Promises
by wild horse
Summary: *finished* Heero is very sick and he tries to hide it from Duo. Duo has vowed never to lose anyone again like Solo, and when he finds out, he will do everything he can to save his friend. But it may be too late, and he may be forced to do the unthinkable.
1. Chapter 1

Title: Promise

Summary: Heero is very sick and he tries to hide it from Duo.  Duo has vowed never to lose anyone again like Solo, and when he finds out, he will do everything he can to save his friend.  But it may be too late, and he may be forced to do the unthinkable.

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing; I'm making NO money out of this.

Acknowledgments: Jesus, Padawan Nik-ka, and Nat

a/n: my first GW fic, I guess.  so r&r :)

Chapter 1:

The alarm rang incessantly.

He reached out a hand to shut it off, then forced himself to sit up straight.  Usually, he didn't use an alarm – he could almost always count on waking up at the correct time – but, in view of what had been happening the past few weeks, he wasn't so sure about that, and he wasn't taking any chances.

He closed his eyes against the wave of pain and dizziness that swept over him, nearly dropping him back to his prone, sleeping position again.

"Straight," he muttered between clenched teeth, "Sit up, stay up."

He did.  _Good._

_Now, stand up, _he thought.

He opened his eyes a little, getting adjusted to the dimness of his quarters.  Then, both hands pushing against his bunk, he got up, leaning heavily against the dull-grey wall.  He blinked hard, trying to keep himself standing.  Once the initial shock was over, he knew he would be able to stay upright.  He just needed…to get used to it.  He did think about lying back down, perhaps calling in sick, but banished the absurd thought as soon as it appeared.

_No way.  There was one more mission to complete today.  One more battle to fight, and to win.  _Duo Maxwell would be waiting for him, he knew.  Although he seemed like a joker, he was never late for mission briefings.  __

"Okay, now get dressed," he thought to himself, "Before Duo starts to think something's fishy."

He stumbled a little, pulling on his clothes and reaching out to get his laptop from its usual place on one of the bare metal shelves.  Then, still standing – he didn't dare to sit down in case he couldn't get up again – he dragged his sneakers on, grabbed his duffel bag, and headed for the room door.  All this he did in the darkness, because it was too painful to make the journey to flick on the light switch.

By the time he reached the door, he was feeling a little better, a little more confident that he could make it through today, just as he had made it through every day of the last week.  __

_Call for the strength that is in you._

He did, summoning up all his willpower, as he'd been trained to do.  

_There is no pain.  I'm fine._

And he was.  He was sure he was okay.  Because he couldn't be anything else other than that.

"Heero!" the voice was accompanied by a sharp knock on the door.

Heero actually allowed himself to roll his eyes in exasperation.  He had forgotten – lately, Pilot 02 had taken it into his head to ram on everyone's doors before a mission briefing, presumably to wake them up, annoy them, or both.  He turned the lock and pulled the door open.

"Morning, Hee-chan," Duo was grinning from ear to ear.

"Hn," Heero merely grunted in reply, closing the door behind him.  

In the room nearby, Wufei had just opened the door and was glaring daggers at Duo, while rubbing the sleep out of his eyes with his hands.  "It's 3 in the morning," he complained.

"I know," Duo replied cheerfully.  "Mission briefing is at 0310."

"Justice will be served!" Wufei said sleepily, trying unsuccessfully to make it sound like it was a threat, and then returned back to his room, swearing under his breath.

"So, Hee-chan, when do we make our move?" Duo was sitting back to back with Heero, staring off into the distance.

"Hn," the brown-haired boy didn't bother to answer – Duo had already been briefed on the mission specifics and he knew them well enough – he just continued staring down at his laptop, typing in instructions at a terrific pace.

"When?" Duo insisted.  He was getting bored with just looking at the bleak, dark desert-like landscape, with only a small road running through, some distance away.

Heero pointedly ignored Duo, focusing all his attention, instead, on the computer screen.

"Heero…"

He sighed and closed his eyes momentarily against the throbbing headache.  He waited a few moments, then checked his watch, "Okay, Baka, we'll be off soon.  Check the gear."  Of course, the equipment didn't need checking, but Heero wanted Duo off his back for a little while more.

"Alright, Hee-chan," Duo got up from his sitting position and sifted through the two bags of explosives, doing a cursory inspection.  "Done."

Heero nodded slightly, then pushed himself up from the ground and to his feet.  He slung the laptop around his shoulder, and picked up his half of the explosive charges, without waiting for the blurred spots in his vision to clear.  He was used to them already.  He knew they would go away soon after he stood.

Without another word, he walked off, Duo beside him, his long braid swinging with each step he took.

It was still early, about 0500 or so, and both Heero and Duo knew they would have just enough time to do their job, and then just a little more, in case something went wrong, before it became bright.  The pinpoints of light coming from the OZ base were already visible, and they walked to within a few hundred metres, before Heero turned silently away from Duo, heading for another part of the fenced perimeter.

Once he got to the fence, he picked out the blue wire running along it, cutting it deftly with his pair of cutters then feeding it into a port on his laptop.  He typed in a few more numbers, waited a few moments, then typed in a string of letters.  A message confirming that the alarm had been deactivated appeared on the screen.

Disconnecting the laptop, he pulled out a pair of regular wire cutters, cut the chain links in the fence easily, then slipped through.  It was as routine to him as brushing his teeth, because he had done it many times before.  Still, he had to be careful, because each time, there might be something new, something different which he hadn't anticipated.

So far, so good.

Slinking through the shadows, he moved up silently to the buildings where the soldiers lived.  _One_.  He fastened the explosive to a supporting structure, moved over to the next one, _two_, and then the next, _three._  The timings had been preset already for 0600, so he didn't need to worry about them.  They were using timers this time, because they had run out of remote-controlled explosives.  

"Halt!"

Heero whipped around at the voice, but realised it hadn't been directed at him as he made out two dark silhouettes somewhere in the distance.  The sudden, unexpected manoeuvre caused his vision to blur again and his head to hurt even more.  He pushed the pain aside to focus on the task at hand.

Next building, _four, five, six.Next building,_ what came after six…nine?  _Heero frowned a little, puzzled.  _…Seven.  That was it.  Seven, eight, nine.  _Next building, it was the command centre, and it would need a little bit more explosives.  He picked out the heavier packs of explosives.  _Ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen…_he thought for a while longer…__fourteen.  _

His duffel bag was empty of explosives, it was almost 0545 already, time to get out and meet Duo.  He turned around, breaking into a slow jog so he would get back to the fence in time.  His vision clouded over yet again, but he shook his head to clear it, hopefully.  Three minutes later, he was back at the fence.

The hole was still there, but as he neared the fence, his acute hearing picked up an unsettling electrical hum.  Turning to one side, he started again as he saw the dark shape of a person, then relaxed a notch as he realised, from the long braid, that it was only Duo.

"The fence is electrified," Duo said, panting slightly.

Heero frowned.  He was sure he had shut off the base defenses, but it was obvious he had missed something.  He cut the red wire this time, plugging it into his laptop as he'd done with the blue one.  

As he handed the cutters to Duo, the long-haired boy noticed that his partner's hands were trembling ever so slightly.  He watched silently as Heero began to type incomprehensible strings of letters and numbers into the computer.

_Code 347.A long pause, then 'Code 347 rejected,' appeared on the screen._

His frown deepening, he typed in the next code, 439.  'Code 439 rejected.'  He glanced briefly at his timer, 10 minutes more.

_Code746.  _'Code 746 rejected.'  The pain in his head was getting even worse.  He squeezed his eyes shut, forcing himself to think.  _If 347 fails, try 439.  if 439 fails, try 746.  if 746 fails… he cursed mentally.  __If 746 fails…_

"Hee-chan?" Duo ventured.  He'd never seen Heero like this before.  "I think we need to hurry…"

_Think…think!  If 746 fails… _he struggled to remember his training.

6 minutes more.

_Try 970.  _He typed it in, noticing that his palms were damp, and that sweat had started to break out on his forhead.  'Code 970 accepted.  Shutting down electrical source.' 4 minutes more.

"Let's go," he muttered curtly to Duo, climbing through the hole in the fence.

Duo nodded silently and, noticing that Heero had left his duffel on the floor, picked it up and carried it through the fence as well, handing it to his partner once he had got across.

Heero stumbled a little, then seemed to regain balance.  He and Duo ran off as fast as they could, just as the OZ base behind them exploded in a bright fireball.

"That was a close one!  Nice work, Hee-chan," Duo said triumphantly.

Heero nodded, "_Ninmu__ ryoukai.  Let's get back, before they start to look for us."_

TBC…


	2. Chapter 2

Title: Promise

Summary: Heero is very sick and he tries to hide it from Duo.  Duo has vowed never to lose anyone again like Solo, and when he finds out, he will do everything he can to save his friend.  But it may be too late, and he may be forced to do the unthinkable.

Author: wild horse

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing; I'm making NO money out of this.

Acknowledgments: Jesus, Padawan Nik-ka, and Nat

a/n: my first GW fic, I guess.  so r&r :) if anyone is ooc, I'm sorry, cuz I haven't really watched the anime yet… 

Chapter 2:

"Heero?"

"Hn."

"Where are we going now?"  Duo was trying to make conversation.  It was awfully quiet, with Wufei sleeping in the back seat of the pick-up truck, and Heero typing away at his laptop, and he couldn't stand it any longer.  They had left the safe house about half an hour ago, since Heero knew that OZ troops would be searching the nearby areas for the 'terrorists'.

No answer.  Dark blue eyes were still fixed on the laptop, studying some schematic diagram.

"Where, Hee-chan?" Duo whined, knowing that it got on the other boy's nerves.  "Where?"

There was a long silence.

"Heero?" Duo turned to look at his partner.  He had looked away from the computer screen, but his eyes were closed, his face as stern and expressionless as ever.  "Heero?" his voice was tinged with some concern, although he tried not to let it show.

Heero shook his head, as though waking from something, then realised Duo had been talking to – or rather at – him.  "Hn.  Just drive, baka."

Duo grinned at Heero's use of his nickname.  He wasn't offended.  Any jibes that came his way, he took in his stride, not taking them too personally.  It was his responsibility to make people laugh, he felt, or make them so mad they would beat him up.  Either way, he knew it helped them relieve the tension of the war, and, as long as it helped, he didn't mind at all. 

"But where are we going?" he pressed a little more, wanting to see how far he could go.

"Just shut up, will ya?" Wufei snapped from behind.

"You're supposed to be asleep," Duo retorted, not a good thing to do, but he did it anyway.  

Luckily, Wufei was too tired to respond.  The last week or so had been really tough, Duo reflected.  They had had many missions, mostly 'recon' or bombings to do.  He remembered how Heero had come close to being seriously hurt during one of the missions, but had managed to escape with only a few scratches.  They were, all of them, under tremendous pressure.  They had to do their jobs, and do them well, and Duo knew that everyone was stretched thin, exhausted.

_But that's the way it is, _he shrugged mentally.  There was nothing they could do, except fight, and then fight some more.  Duo suspected that even Heero was feeling worn out, even though that seemed impossible enough – Heero was _the Perfect Soldier.  Maybe that was why Heero was acting weird._

The clicking of the keys had stopped for awhile.  Duo turned to look at Heero again.  

He was leaning back into the seat, blue eyes closed, chocolate-brown hair falling messily over his forehead, fast asleep.  Just to be sure he was really asleep, Duo called his name again, softly, but Heero didn't reply.  Duo did notice, however, that a road map, and directions to the safe house, had been helpfully displayed on the laptop.

He took a good look at them, then continued to fix his eyes on the road.  He was more relieved that Heero was asleep, even though that meant that he would have no one else to talk to for now.

1300.  Five and a half hours later, they had reached the safe house.  Heero had insisted on driving the last one hour, so Duo could get some rest.

Heero parked the car in front of the hut, then pushed the door open and stepped out of the truck.  On the opposite side, Duo had jumped out of his seat and was already heading for the door, keys in hand.  Heero walked stiffly to the back of the truck and retrieved his, and Duo's, duffel bags.  The rest of the gear he left in the truck – they would need it soon for the next mission.  They had dropped Wufei off on the way here, since he had a solo mission to complete.  He would join them again after a few days.

"It's…okay.  Better than some we've seen," Duo grinned as his partner entered the hut.

"Hn." Heero tossed the duffel bag to Duo, who caught it neatly.  The hut had two rooms, and he chose the nearer of the two, closing the door behind him.

There was just a small bunk with a thin mattress, and shelf above it.  Despite the intense headache that threatened to bring him to his knees, he picked up his laptop and stood on tiptoe to place it on the shelf.  Then, forcing himself to take his time, he bent down, grabbed his bag from the floor and pushed it onto the shelf as well.

The blood rush was so bad, everything in his vision turned black for a second, then gradually blurred back into existence.  He continued standing, pushing away the pain as best he could.

_No pain._

He took a deep breath.

_It doesn't exist if you don't let it._

He took another breath.

_Banish it.  It doesn't exist._  

He tried.

…_doesn't exist…_

The world blacked out around him and he collapsed.

It was ten minutes after 1700, the time they were supposed to go through the night's mission requirements.  Duo got up from where he had been sitting for the past 15 minutes - watching the door of Heero's room.  He frowned a little, because Heero was never late for mission briefings, and he had been shut up inside the room for four hours already.

"Heero?" he hammered on the door, then turned the doorknob, opening the door a notch.  "Hee-chan?" Duo peered around the door, and made out the shape of his partner, lying on his bunk.

"_Omae__ o korusu.__  Go away, I'm not changed yet."_

Duo obeyed, and closed the door softly, shrugging to himself.

Inside the room, Heero sat up in bed, still wearing his green tank-top and spandex.  He'd lied to Duo, just to get him out of the room – he didn't want Duo to see that he'd overslept.  His head still hurt, but less now, thankfully.

He shoved the pain out of his mind.  It didn't exist.  The mission did.

Pulling on a pair of black jeans and a black T-shirt – it was going to be a night mission – so that it would look as though he had changed, he reached up to take his laptop down from the shelf, then opened the door, blinking in the comparative darkness of the rest of the hut.

"Hi Hee-chan, forget to comb your hair?" Duo teased playfully.

Heero merely glared at him, running a calloused hand through his tousled brown hair, pushing it out of his eyes.

"So, what will we do tonight?" the chestnut-haired boy continued, watching as his partner walked into the main hall of the hut and sat down against one of the bare concrete walls.

"Recon work," Heero was looking down at his laptop now.  Typing.  Again.  Duo suppressed a sigh of resignation and seated himself on the floor opposite Heero. 

"Then when will we get to assassinate the Target?"

"Tomorrow, or the day after that."

Duo made a face, which Heero saw out of the corner of his eye but ignored.  "What's the plan for tonight, then?" Duo was finally settling down to business.

"Hn.  We'll just go, and see…" Heero answered, and he explained the mission details carefully to his partner.

Heero pulled on the thick gloves, then grabbed onto the fence, hoisting himself up.  Beside him, Duo was already climbing like a monkey, and had almost reached the barbed-wire part.  He waited for Heero, then the two of them swung over the wire, landing softly on the ground inside the OZ base.

Duo's keen eyesight, honed by years of living off the streets, picked out the main building first, and he pointed it out to Heero.  Nodding, the brown-haired boy headed towards it, his partner in tow.

It was a cold night, and Duo wished he were wearing something else other than just a T-shirt.  Heero, as usual, didn't seem affected by the cold, or, if he were, he wasn't showing it, Duo mused.  He watched as Heero pulled out a pair of binoculars and scanned through the row of windows on the first floor.  They already had a clue as to where the Target's quarters were, but they had to make sure.  Then he passed the binoculars to his partner, for Duo to confirm the position of the Target.

They scouted around the base for the next hour or so, observing sentry movements, building positions, and other details, then they headed back to the safe house.

It was a good one hour walk back from the base to the safe house, about five kilometers or so.  They hadn't risked driving there, because the engine noise might've alerted someone.  

Now, it was getting colder, and Duo couldn't stop himself from shivering.  He turned to look at Heero, to see if he was shivering too, and noticed that his partner had started coughing uncontrollably.

"Hee-chan, are you okay?" he didn't bother to keep the worry from his voice anymore, even though he knew that it would annoy the other boy.  He knew Heero didn't get sick, not ever.

"Hn," Heero forced himself to stop coughing, then looked up to meet Duo's worried gaze and shrugged off his friend's concern, "I'm okay."  Truth was, he could barely see clearly, and it took a lot of effort to continue walking in a straight line, but he lied and hid the fact from Duo, and himself.  He was okay, his training had been tougher than this.  As long as he told himself that he was fine, he would be.

"Just checking," Duo grinned.  He switched topics, "We're almost there, right?"

"Hn."

"Good.  Then we can get out of the cold.  It's freezing."

Heero didn't bother to say anything else, knowing that Duo would continue his one-sided conversation with himself and wasn't expecting any answers.

"And then we can get something to eat.  I'm hungry."

"Hn."

"And then… oh, okay, we're there," Duo stopped talking for a while as he fished in his pockets for the keys and opened the door to the safe house.  On his way in, Heero remembered to grab a few of the Army rations from the back of the truck, and he threw a packet at Duo.  There wasn't any kitchen and besides, they hadn't had time to go and buy fresh supplies.

Duo grimaced as he closed the door behind him and sat down on the floor.  There was no furniture whatsoever, except for what was in the rooms, but at least, the floor was clean.

"Don't you ever get tired of eating Military rations?" Duo whined a little.

"No," it didn't bother Heero, since he'd been eating them almost all his life. 

"For once, couldn't you just say yes?  Come on, nobody can _love eating military rations," Duo knew this would aggravate his partner._

"Yes."

"Really?" he perked up.

"No," Heero glared at him before opening the packet and starting to eat.

"Okay, suit yourself," Duo shrugged.  It wasn't as though he was averse to the idea of eating the rations; he didn't mind it in the least.  But it was fun to tease Heero, to see if he would react – which he never did.

When Duo was only halfway through his meal, Heero had already finished, thrown the empty packet away, and gone off to his room.

"See you in the morning," Duo remarked, and got a "hn" for his efforts.

Heero closed the door behind him, sat down on his bunk, flipped up the laptop screen and started composing the mission report for yesterday's bombing of the OZ base.  He was irritated with himself for not having done it last night; and he couldn't remember the reason why.  It didn't matter, he'd get it done now, then he would deal with the almost continuous headache that refused to go away.

The report was a short one, briefly describing the mission conditions and what had happened.  He remembered to put in the part about the fence being electrified, but he didn't say anything about the codes being rejected.  He knew it was a failure on his part, a failure he wouldn't make ever again.

He sent off the report then put the laptop away on the shelf.  Now he would do something about the headache and the pain.  Picking up his duffel from the floor, he retrieved the 20-centimetre long knife.

The headache, the nausea he felt now, all of it wasn't real.  It wasn't real pain; he'd been imagining it all this while.  It could stop him from completing the mission, so he would get rid of it.

He pulled the knife out of its sheath with his right hand, watching the dull, blackened blade.  He closed his eyes for a second, and when they opened, dark-blue eyes were filled with resolve.  Then, he clenched his left hand into a fist.

_This is what real pain feels like…_

Gripping the knife, he pressed the tip into the outside of his lower arm next to his wrist, close to the bone, where there weren't any important blood vessels.  Then, he drew it slowly towards him, staring fixedly at his arm, watching as the blade reached down to white bone and the blood began to trickle out of the broken skin.  Finally, he lifted the knife away, taking his time to wipe it on a piece of cloth, push it back into the sheath, and place it back in his bag.

Cold, methodical.  He looked back at his arm, now bleeding.

_This was real pain.  Tangible._

He continued to stare, pushing away the pain in his head, the dizziness that he was feeling.  There was nothing wrong with him.  Nothing.  He drew all his attention and focus to the cut on his arm, feeling the pain for a few moments.  His fist was clenched so tightly, the knuckles had turned white.

_That was the only thing wrong…the pain in his arm.  _

He pushed it away as well, locking it up in an obscure part of his brain.

_Now, there was nothing wrong at all._

The blood was soaking into the white cloth he'd put on his lap, staining it bright red.  He could smell the iron-like stench of it, but he didn't allow himself to feel anything.  He pressed the cloth against his arm, applying pressure so the cut would close up quickly.  Once it did, he reached into his bag again with his other hand and pulled out the first aid kit.  He bandaged up his arm, then folded up the stained cloth, placing it on the floor.  He'd throw it away later.  

_No, _it was coming back; the throbbing headache.  _Go away.  It doesn't exist._

_Shit.  _

_No.  Not again.  Don't…_

He couldn't stop the pain from rebounding back, hitting him full-force in the face and dropping him unconscious onto his bunk.

Duo Maxwell shifted uneasily in his bunk.  He was used to the hardness, and partly, to the cold, but he was unsettled by Heero's recent behaviour. For the past few hours, he'd been lying awake, listening to the occasional bouts of coughing from the room next to his.  

It seemed that Heero wasn't very well, he might even be quite sick.  

Duo sighed.  He knew he would be inviting trouble if he broached the subject with his partner.  But he was Duo Maxwell, he could at least try.

Half-satisfied with the conclusion he'd come to, he tried to get back to sleep.

TBC…


	3. Chapter 3

Title: Promise

Summary: Heero is very sick and he tries to hide it from Duo.  Duo has vowed never to lose anyone again like Solo, and when he finds out, he will do everything he can to save his friend.  But it may be too late, and he may be forced to do the unthinkable.

Author: wild horse

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing; I'm making NO money out of this.

Acknowledgments: Jesus, Padawan Nik-ka, and Nat

a/n: I suppose the plot may be overused, I have no idea, because, like I said, I'm new to this fandom and I haven't really read much into it yet.  But don't worry, I did twist it pretty badly at the end… for you to find out when I finish :)  yup.

Chapter 3:

"Heero!" Duo didn't care anymore, it was almost 1000 already, and he was going to barge in, whether Heero liked it or not.  He pushed the door open.  

The smell of blood hit him first.  He flicked on the lights.  His sharp eyesight picked out his partner, lying on his bunk, and the blood-stained cloth on the floor.  Heero was still wearing his jeans, but he'd put on a long-sleeved T-shirt.

"Hee-chan?"  Duo ran to his friend and shook him roughly.  He was grabbed roughly by the neck and nearly choked to death.  

Heero glared at Duo as he recognised the other boy, "You're not supposed to come in without knocking – and waiting – first."

"Then you tell me what's going on!" Duo demanded.

"Nothing," he replied curtly, still glaring.

"You expect me to believe you," Duo snorted incredulously.

"Hn."

"Come on Heero Yuy, damn you, you're not invincible, you know." Duo was trying, unsuccessfully, not to curse.  He was worried by the large amount of blood he'd seen on the cloth.

Heero shrugged, as though giving up.  "Okay, I got hurt last night, a little.  But it's not bad."

Duo was skeptical, "Show me."

He turned around, and Duo lifted up Heero's shirt, exposing three long scratches.  They were already healing.

"You're lying," Duo stated flatly.

"Hn.  If that's what you think, baka."

"Right.  Then where did _that _come from," Duo pointed accusingly at the blood-stained cloth.

Heero was as expressionless as ever, "I told you, I got hurt last night."

Duo knew it was pointless to argue with Heero.  "Fine.  All I need to know is, whether you're okay or not."

Heero shot his partner another glare, "I'm okay."

Duo rolled his eyes in exasperation, "If you were dead, you'd still insist you were okay.  Tell the truth."

"I already said it.  I'll be alright," he stared unflinchingly into Duo's blue eyes.

"Okay, whatever," Duo gave up.  "I thought you might be hungry."

"I am," Heero conceded, allowing Duo the victory this once.  

2300.  They were back in the OZ base.

Duo was planting explosive charges.  He set the explosives to go off at 2340.  The plan was to meet Heero by 2335 latest, so they could leave the base before the charges blew.  Heero had got the unenviable task of making sure that the Target was assassinated before the base exploded.

Heero slunk from shadow to shadow, watching out for any soldiers on patrol.  He waited a while, making sure that no one was around, before sprinting for the main building.  It was brightly lit, and he knew he'd have to be careful, because he would be very easily seen.

A footstep startled him, and he sank back into a shadow, watching as two sentries walked by, talking softly to each other.

_Good.  _They were distracted, paying no attention to their surroundings.

When they were out of sight, he ran along the lighted corridor, counting mentally as he did so.  

_Ninth door from the right.__  He found it; it was locked.  __No surprise.  He worked quickly at picking the lock, then padded softly into the room, closing the door behind him.  _

A dark figure was sleeping on the single bed inside the room.  

Heero strode forward and grabbed the person by his shirt collar with his left hand.  He brought his right hand up above the head before bringing it down hard, watching as the person crumpled and went limp.  He reached for his flashlight, flicking it on and focusing the thin beam of light onto the person's face.

_Good.  _It was the same face as the one in the photographs he and Duo had gone through earlier on.  He dropped the man back onto the bed, pulled out his gun, fitted on the silencer, and shot him twice.  A few moments later, he checked to make sure the Target was really dead, then turned to head for the door.  2324.   He was on time.  Barely.

It opened before he reached it, and an OZ soldier jumped him.

Heero sidestepped instinctively, before turning and reaching out to punch the soldier in the stomach.  He got hit on the head first, but he carried through with his blow, then brought his other hand around and shot the soldier in the chest.

_That was close._  

He pushed himself up off the ground and into a standing position.  Then, forcing his ragged breathing under control, he kicked the soldier out of the way with his foot, re-opened the door and stepped outside. 

"Hi Hee-chan, how'd it go?" Duo greeted his partner softly, but the cheer in his voice was evident.

"Hn, the Target is dead." 

"Let's go home then," Duo nodded, not expecting any other answer.  

2335 exactly.  

He broke into a run.  He could hear Heero's faint footsteps behind him for awhile, then they stopped, and Duo turned around, startled.  

_Shit.  _Heero was lying face down on the ground, next to one of the buildings, a few metres away.  

Duo sprinted to his partner's side, kneeling down beside him.  He shook Heero's shoulders roughly.  The pilot was unconscious.

"Dammit, Heero, wake up!" Duo was aware of the closeness of the building, and of the explosive charge he'd planted earlier.  He glanced at his watch.  2337.

"Come on…" Duo pleaded.  He half-dragged, half-carried his partner the next twenty metres or so to the fencing, then rummaged in Heero's bag for the wire cutters.  The building was still dangerously close.

2338.  Duo forced himself to keep his hands steady as he cut through the fence, link by link, not caring if he was setting off the base alarms.  _Quick…why is it taking so long…_

2339.  His timer started counting down the last minute.  _Forget it!  _He had only cut through half the links in the fence.  Duo dragged Heero further away from the building.  15 seconds more.  _Oh shit.  Don't die, I don't want to die like this either.  He crouched down, placing himself between his partner and the nearest building, then covered his ears._

2340.  The explosion tore through the still night, flinging shrapnel in all directions.  Duo felt some of it tear into his back, but he gritted his teeth against the pain, then straightened up.

_Convenient.__  The fence he'd been trying to cut earlier had been blown away by the impact of the explosion.  He dragged Heero up onto his shoulders, then stumbled awkwardly towards the huge hole in the fence._

"Stop!"

Duo pulled Heero's pistol from his belt, and fired it off at the OZ soldier.  He crumpled to the ground, dead.

_Come on…have to run.  _He tried breaking into a run, stumbling and falling as he carried Heero.  _Almost there…_he fell to his knees, but staggered to his feet and continued his crooked half-run.  He had run for nearly 10 minutes already, and, by now, he was practically dragging the unconscious pilot.  Duo knew he had to get away quickly, before the OZ troops came after them.

"Duo, stop dragging me, baka."

He let go and stopped, beside a tree.  "Heero?"

Heero didn't answer, he was kneeling over, coughing violently.

"Are you okay?" he asked.  "I got a bad fright when you blacked out."

Heero managed to suppress his coughing, and frowned, "Hn."  He could see blood on the hand he'd used to cover his mouth, blood on the grass.  He wiped his hand off on his jeans.  "Are you hurt?"

"Only a little," Duo was kneeling beside his friend now, looking at him in concern.  He noticed the blood on the grass as Heero started coughing uncontrollably again.  "Shit," he couldn't stop himself, "You're damn sick, Hee-chan!"

"I'm okay," he was trying to convince himself as well.  He forced himself to stand up, but he had to lean against the tree for support.

"You're not," Duo pulled Heero's left arm over his own shoulder, supporting his partner.  "Come, we got to get back to the safe house."

Heero was in bad shape.  Duo knew it, even though his partner seemed well enough right now.  He forced the brown-haired boy to sit down against one of the walls inside the hut, then retrieved the first aid kit.

"We should leave for the next safe house soon," Heero said matter-of-factly, not letting the pain he was feeling show in his voice.  "They will be looking for us."

"We still have some time," Duo answered.  "We can't leave with you like this."

"Hn," Heero was glaring at his partner.  "We've been through this so many times.  I'm okay."

"Well, yeah?" Duo retorted.  "I don't trust your judgement about yourself."  He turned around and rummaged through the kit.

Heero noticed that Duo's back was bleeding.  "You're hurt too."

"Not as bad as you are," Duo shot back.

"Hn.  I'll do you first."

"No," he found what he'd been looking for – a needle and a syringe for drawing blood.

Heero grabbed the kit from Duo.  "You let me patch you up first, and then you can get your turn."

Duo glared, but he let Heero win.  "Ok."  He took off his shirt, turned around and sat down.  Heero examined the wounds carefully, using tweezers to pull out the small pieces of shrapnel, then he cleaned them out.

"You want the local?" He asked, although he already knew the answer.

"No.  Don't bother," Duo balled his hands up into fists and clenched his teeth, ready to brace against the pain.

"Hn," He stitched up two of the deepest wounds, then poured antiseptic over them.  "You should put on a clean shirt."  

Duo obeyed and went to his room to retrieve another T-shirt.  He took one of Heero's T-shirts too and brought it back with him to the main room.  "Okay, Perfect Soldier, now it's my turn," he picked up the needle, tore the protective packet around it, and pushed it into the syringe.

Seeing that Duo wouldn't relent, Heero stuck out his right arm for the other boy.

Duo frowned, "We'll use the other arm.  But first, change out into the T-shirt."  He tossed the shirt his partner.  

_He knows, or he suspects,_ Heero knew he couldn't trick his best friend for long.  He pulled off his long-sleeved shirt and put on the one Duo had brought.

Duo saw the bandaged arm and snorted incredulously.  "What did I say?  I don't trust you.  What happened?"

"Hn," Heero just glared harder at his partner, despite his painful headache. 

"Damn you," Duo muttered, as it dawned upon him.  "Is it deep?"

"Not very," Heero made a fist with his right hand, and Duo plunged the needle into the vein, pulling the plunger back slowly.  When he was done, he took the blood and placed it in two vials, then used the blood test kit to test one of the samples.  A few minutes later, the result was a _Negative_.

Duo turned to see if his partner would say 'I told you so', but Heero just kept silent, and Duo knew that things weren't turning out well.  "It's something else, isn't it?" he asked quietly.

"Hn.  It will go away," Heero started coughing again.

"I don't think it will," Duo closed his eyes momentarily.  _Don't.  Don't let it happen again.  I won't sit by the side and let him go, like what happened to Solo.  Violet eyes opened, filled with determination.  "I'm going to the hospital," he picked up the other vial and got to his feet._

"No."  Heero stood up so fast, he nearly blacked out.  "They'll figure out. "  His words made a lot of sense, even to Duo.

But Duo didn't care for them.  He tucked his long braid under a cap, then turned to his partner, the fire in his eyes unmistakable, "Try and stop me."

Heero lunged forward in one swift motion.  Duo dodged, but Heero had expected that, and he gripped the other boy's shoulders, flipping him over and forcing him down to the ground.  Duo struggled, then gave it up, scowling and staring fiercely into his partner's eyes.

"Don't you ever think about anything _but the mission?" Duo was exasperated._

"Sometimes," Heero surprised his partner by saying that.  "Us living to the end of this war.  And that's not going to happen if you go off."

"But you're sick."

"I'll be okay."

"Dammit Heero, stop saying that.  You know you won't.  Get off me!"

Heero relented and stood away.  "Are you ever going to give it up?"

"No," violet eyes locked with dark-blue ones.  "I could at least see if there's a cure.  Don't deny it.  Even if you're not sick, you're not well either."

"It's unnecessary risk," Heero said flatly.  "And we're late.  We have to leave now; get your stuff."

It was Duo's turn to glare.  "You know you can't stop me.  Just let me go."

"Hn," Heero knew his partner well enough to pick up on the edge in his voice – the other boy meant to run away, if need be.  And that would jeopardise the mission even more.

Duo stood there for a few more moments, his stare never fading in intensity. Then, he headed for his room to pick up his duffel bag.  Heero did the same.

TBC.


	4. Chapter 4

Title: Promise

Summary: Heero is very sick and he tries to hide it from Duo.  Duo has vowed never to lose anyone again like Solo, and when he finds out, he will do everything he can to save his friend.  But it may be too late, and he may be forced to do the unthinkable.

Author: wild horse

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing; I'm making NO money out of this.

Acknowledgments: Jesus, Padawan Nik-ka, and Nat

a/n: thanks for the reviews :)

Chapter 4:

"I need a favour.  Analyse this blood sample for me."

The barrel of the gun was pressed against the side of his skull.  The doctor stared up into his attacker's face, wide-eyed.  A teenage boy, wearing a cap.  He knew it was one of the enemy.  The boy pressed the vial of blood into his hand and then dragged the doctor to his feet.

"Whose blood is it?  Yours?" the doctor ventured boldly, probing for information.  

"Shut up and get it done," the boy snarled.

The doctor nodded, complying.  He placed the sample in a slot in the machine, pressed a few buttons, then said, as coolly as he could, "It will take a few minutes to obtain the results."  The gunman responded with a slight nod, but his gun remained unwaveringly pointed at the doctor's skull.

Finally, the test results appeared on the screen.  He pretended to be studying them, but the moment he had first seen them, he knew what it was that was happening already.  Inwardly, he rejoiced.  Outwardly, he remarked casually, "You got a very sick friend here."

"You mind your own business," the boy snapped back.  "What's the report?"

"It's a new disease, and it's usually fatal, but I have some medicine that could cure it."  It was true, the doctor knew.  The OZ researchers – and he was one of them – _had _been working on a cure, but it wasn't totally effective and it had some adverse side-effects.  In fact, they had been working on the disease itself, had created it in their own laboratories and tested it in the field some weeks back.  But the project had been scrapped because no cure or vaccine could be found.  It was therefore interesting to note that someone in the enemy had contracted the disease.  He tapped a key and the screen appeared to scroll down.  The machine sent out a string of coded letters and numbers to the nearby OZ base.

The doctor declared, "This confirms the diagnosis."

"Give it to me," the gunman said in a business-like manner.  "The medicine."

The doctor complied, willingly.  "Thrice a day."

Duo nodded, "Thank you." He turned, as if to go, then whipped around and shot the doctor clean through the head.  "Sorry doc," he muttered under his breath, "I didn't like the look on your face."  Then, he put three bullets through the machine as well, and fled the hospital.

"I'm back." He announced. 

"You shouldn't have gone." 

Duo grimaced, "Well, I'm back, safe.  And we can leave now.  I'm driving."  He waited for Heero to get out of the driver's seat and move over to the other side of the cabin, before climbing in.

"Hn," Heero settled down as Duo turned the key, started the engine, and drove off, then flipped up his laptop screen and began typing.  "We were being watched," he said quietly, without looking up.

"Well, yeah?"  Duo was still feeling a little annoyed and cocky.  The last thing he needed was for Heero to preach.

"Two," Heero answered, still typing.  

"Did they get to report?" Duo asked, trying to keep the slight anxiety out of his voice.

"No."  Heero left it to his partner to speculate on what had happened to the sentries.  

There was a long silence before Duo decided to speak again, "Want to know what I found out?"

"Hn."  

Duo didn't even bother to glance at his partner; if the brown-haired boy was interested at all, it didn't show on his usual, expressionless face.  "It's a new disease, that's why I think it didn't show up on the test.  But it's not bad, and they have a cure which works.  I got the medicine, take it three times a day."  

Heero frowned as Duo handed the bottle of tablets to him.  There was no label on it.  He unscrewed the cap.  The medicine smelled familiar – a sickly sweet smell – but he couldn't quite place where he'd smelt it before.

"I'm pretty sure the doctor was telling the truth," Duo knew what Heero was thinking.  The former street rat had a good gut instinct about people, and Heero had, over time, learnt to trust it.  

"Thanks," the other boy acknowledged grudgingly after he swallowed the medicine.

"You're welcome," Duo shook his head in resignation, then switched topics.  "So, Hee-chan, where are we headed?"

For some reason or other – it was probably because he wanted Duo to shut up – Heero divulged the information readily, "Meet up with Wufei at the next safe house, then go and check on the Gundams.  Quatre and Trowa might join us, but I don't think so."  

"Hn," Duo grunted, then tried to stop himself from snickering.  He earned another death glare.

Heero allowed himself a slight grin as Duo burst out in uncontrollable laughter, then, done with his typing, he leaned back in his seat, and went to sleep. 

Duo took his eyes off the road for a while to glance in his partner's direction, taking in the messed brown hair, closed eyes and bandaged arm.  _Damn it, Heero, I love you.  _

It wasn't in _that _sort of way, Duo was sure – he didn't want it to be, anyway – more of like a brotherly sort of love.  Sometimes, it seemed as though Heero Yuy, Perfect Soldier though he was, needed someone else to watch over him.  _The way Solo watched over me, _Duo mused, turning his attention back to the road.  Sometimes.

_Sometimes… us living to the end of this war._

Duo realised his eyes were wet with tears.  He brushed a hand roughly across them.  Why was he crying when Heero would get better?  _Fatal.__  Usually fatal … could__ cure it.  Duo knew, all too well, what those words meant.  ___

_No._

Heero _would live through this, like he'd lived through everything else.  _Fatal, _but not for Heero Yuy.  Duo knew he had to convince himself, and Heero.  He would.  He _was _convinced.  He had to be, for Heero's sake._

_I won't let you die, Heero.  _

_Never.___

_Never again like Solo.  I promise._

_There's still hope, kid, as long as you believe.  _Solo's words; Duo knew he'd remember them for life.  Dawn was breaking, and bright streaks of light pierced through the darkness.  He closed his eyes for a second, then reopened them.  Like the light, there would be hope.  

Duo Maxwell looked at his partner once more, violet eyes hardened with resolve.  __

_I promise._

Heero woke up when they were about ten minutes from the safe house.  He cursed himself mentally for not having woken up earlier to help Duo drive.  

"You better?" Duo asked in a conversational tone.  "We're almost there."

"Yeah," this time, Heero knew he wasn't lying.  The headache and nausea had faded to just slight discomfort, and for that, he was extremely grateful.  

Duo nodded, noting that Heero didn't appear to be as sick as when they'd left the last safe house.  He was recovering.  That was good.

Wufei came out to greet them when they arrived at the safe house, a hut slightly bigger than the last one had been.  Duo waved once they had got out of the truck, and Heero merely grunted.  As before, they only took their duffels.

"Did you bring anything nice to eat?" Wufei asked hopefully.

Duo beamed, "Yeah sure."

Wufei brightened up visibly.

"Army rations."

The other Gundam pilot grimaced and glared at Duo as Heero tossed him a packet from the back of the truck. The Perfect Soldier was smiling ever so slightly, "Hn.  Let's get inside."

Heero was sitting on the bunk, studying his laptop.

Duo dumped his duffel on the top bunk in the room, after seeing that Heero had placed his on the bottom one.  This safe house only had two rooms, and they had decided to let Wufei sleep alone – he was always more of a loner anyway.

Duo glanced at Heero, but the other boy was either ignoring him or too engrossed in his laptop to notice, so he climbed up to his bunk to take a nap – he had gone through the whole night without sleep, and he was tired.  "Wake me up when you're done," he called down to his partner.

"Hn," Heero grunted in reply, storing that piece of information in some part of his brain.  There wasn't really anything to do yet anyway, since they had to wait for the cover of nightfall before they could go and inspect the Gundams.  It was good that Duo had decided to sleep, since he was probably exhausted, even though he seemed as energetic as ever.  The next mission would be just as taxing, if not worse.  It was the last one for the next week or so, and Heero knew that if he could just last through this one, he'd be fine.  Duo's concern was really all for nothing, Heero sighed to himself as, realising the room lights were turned on, he got up to switch them off so Duo would be able to sleep better.

Staring at the screen, he saw that he'd almost finished the mission report already.  He typed in the last few sentences, then sent it off.  He wondered what he should do with his time now, figuring that Wufei would also be asleep.  Rummaging through his duffel bag, he found a diskette, inserting it into the laptop.  The screen turned black except for a blinking white cursor, then he began to type in codes, practising and going through the various hacking procedures.

When he'd finished about an hour of practising, he put the laptop aside, changed into a tank-top and shorts, then left the safe house.  He'd decided to go for a short run, something he hadn't done in nearly a week, which meant that he'd been losing stamina.  Heero didn't particularly like that thought, but he dwelt on it for awhile, then pushed it aside as his feet hit the muddy trail.  He figured he would be less conspicuous if he stayed off the roads, so that left only cross-country to run.

That was alright.  He didn't mind in the least. 

As he ran, he let his mind wander, although he kept his senses alert for anything suspicious.  Duo might complain that he was sick, but Heero knew from experience that a good run would usually clear off most things, including the nagging pain in his head.  Even if it hurt less now, it was still there.  He knew the medicine wouldn't cure him immediately – it might not even work properly – but he didn't really have a choice.  The mission was top priority – every one of the 3 Gundams would be needed – and even if Wufei and Duo insisted they could do it together without him, he didn't think they could.  He _had_ to get better, and so he put himself to the test, pushing his limits, as he knew he would have to do in the mission.

He glanced at his timer and realised that he'd already been running for 17 minutes.  As he headed back, he could tell that the pain was gone.  He grinned a little – that was good – then his face hardened again in determination as he kicked up the pace and worked on finishing the last 13 or so minutes.

"Wake up, baka," Heero said gruffly, for the second time.  He climbed up to the top bunk and gave Duo a hard shove.

"Okay, okay, I'm awake," Duo grumbled, sitting up and blinking in the glare of the bright room lights.

"Hn," Heero knew that his partner had probably been feigning sleep the past five minutes, just to annoy him.

Duo jumped off the bunk, landing softly on his feet.  He noticed that Heero's dark-brown hair was wet and figured that the other boy had probably taken a bath.  He decided to take one too. "What time is it?"

"1600."

"When will we be going through the mission details?" Duo asked as he grabbed a towel and a change of clothes.

"1615."

"Right.  Which means I'm going to be late.  You so set me up!" Duo pretended to sound annoyed as he bolted out of the room and headed for the shower.

Heero chuckled a little at Duo's antics, then picked up his laptop and went into the hall.

"Hi Heero.  What's with Duo?" Wufei was already sitting cross-legged on the floor.

Heero shrugged, his face as expressionless as ever, and sat down opposite the Chinese boy, his back to a wall.  He placed the laptop beside him.

"Got injured?" Wufei asked for the sake of trying to make conversation while they waited for Duo, gesturing towards Heero's bandaged left arm.

"Huh?" Heero was caught off-guard, a rare occurrence.  "Oh, that.  It's not very bad."

Wufei looked a little cynical, but accepted the answer without questioning.  The two of them sat there together in silence, each watching the other casually, until Duo arrived, at 1616.

"You're late," Wufei said flatly, frowning slightly.

Duo ignored the frown and sat down, "Hi Wufei."  His wet hair hadn't been braided yet, but he'd managed to comb it out neatly, and it hung over his back.  He pulled it back into a long ponytail, then began to braid it, watching the other two pilots as he did so.

Heero began immediately, "I have the location of the warehouse on the laptop; Wufei, have you seen the place?"

The black-haired pilot nodded, "Yes, I passed it yesterday, on the way here.  It will be quite deserted by tonight.  No one really passes it."

"Good.  We'll check the Gundams later tonight – make sure they're fuelled and ready to go."

"What's the target this time?" Duo asked.

"Enemy base.  I've been scouting it out," Wufei answered.  "Should be okay enough."

It was Heero's turn to frown, "It's a small base, but very instrumental.  They use it to transport ammunition, so we'll try and hit it hard."

Duo grinned, "Blow it up?"

"Yes, why not?  If there's enough ammunition and it amuses you," Wufei remarked dryly, slightly annoyed.

The ginger-haired boy shrugged.  He didn't really like killing people, but he knew some things just had to be done.  He finished braiding his hair, then paid close attention as Heero went through the mission plan.

The rest of the night was rather uneventful.  They drove out to the warehouse, checked that all the equipment was there and that the Gundams were in working condition, then returned to the safe house.  Wufei went off to his room, leaving Duo and Heero outside, sitting on the grass, staring up at the dark night-sky. 

"Hee-chan?" Duo asked softly.

"Hn."

"Don't you ever wish that everything would be okay?" Duo was still looking up at the stars.  "That perhaps, when we wake up tomorrow – and not if – the war will be over, everything will be all right?"

Heero shrugged.  "That would be wishing for something impossible," he said matter-of-factly.

Duo was slightly exasperated, "That's what wishes are for, right?"

"Hn," Heero wasn't ignoring his partner this time; it was just that he couldn't think of anything to say.

"I dunno.  'Cause that's what I often hope for – that everything'll be all right, that nobody else will have to die."

Heero picked up the slightest note of uncertainty in the other boy's voice.  He could tell Duo was afraid, and he could guess at what he was afraid of.  _Funny how I'm not worried about my own death, but Duo is, Heero mused.  "I think almost everyone wishes for that," He allowed._

"Really?" Duo looked at Heero.  Heero could read into his best friend's eyes. It was difficult to imagine that this boy was also known as Shinigami – god of death.

 "This is the last mission, then we get to rest for a while."

Duo nodded.  "Promise me you won't get killed."

Heero knew it was a rather stupid thing to do, because he could never be sure, but he let it go, this once, for Duo's sake, "I promise." He put an arm around Duo's shoulder.

Duo closed his eyes.  _I'll hold you to your promise, Hee-chan.  Don't go on me._  He could feel a sort of hope, certainty that things would be right.

TBC.


	5. Chapter 5

Title: Promise

Summary: Heero is very sick and he tries to hide it from Duo.  Duo has vowed never to lose anyone again like Solo, and when he finds out, he will do everything he can to save his friend.  But it may be too late, and he may be forced to do the unthinkable.

Author: wild horse

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing; I'm making NO money out of this.

Acknowledgments: Jesus, Padawan Nik-ka, and Nat

a/n: thanks for the reviews :)  ah, the gundam combat is abit off, sorry, but okay, I guess.

Chapter 5:

"Wufei?" Duo pushed the room door open gently.  It was about 7 in the morning. "I need a favour."

The Chinese boy scowled.  He was sitting cross-legged on his bed, "What?"

He closed the door behind him, "I need you to help me persuade Heero to sit out this mission."

Wufei arched an eyebrow.  He didn't bother to ask Duo to sit down, just let him stand there and waited for him to continue.

"Uh, it's like this.  He's sick… and I don't think he can do it," Duo tried not to look away from the other pilots' intense, and uncomfortable, gaze.  

There was still no response.

"Okay, look, dammit, you could at least say something!" Duo snapped.

Wufei sighed, "Right.  So what do you think I should do and why do you think I should do it?"

"I just said it. He's sick, very sick, and I'm damned worried about him," Duo forced the desperation out of his voice.

"The last time I checked, Heero Yuy was still alive," there was still a hint of sarcasm.

"I'm serious here, and you're not helping.  He blacked out on me, the last mission."

This got Wufei's attention.  It finally occurred to him that Duo was still standing uncomfortably, and he told the long-haired pilot to take a seat.  "When he hurt his arm?" he asked.

Duo paused for awhile, debating whether to tell Wufei or not.  "No.  He wasn't hit or what."

Wufei nodded, understanding.  "So what do you want me to do?"

"Stop him from going, I guess.  I could hear him coughing nearly half the night.  If he doesn't do this mission, and what with the break we have after this, he'll recover."

The other pilot tilted his head slightly, "You're sure."

"Of course I'm sure!" Duo shot back immediately.

"Okay.  We can do without him, force him to rest.  But like I said, what do you want me to do to stop him?" Wufei knew that if Heero was as sick as Duo thought he was, he would hide it as best he could and try and get on with the mission.  And for that, Wufei respected the Japanese pilot – quite a bit – and knew that Heero would be putting himself – and the mission – in jeopardy if he went.

"Hit him on the head?  I don't know.  We could collaborate, I guess."

Wufei thought for awhile before answering, "Fine.  We'll try and talk him out of it.  If that doesn't work, then we'll try something else."

"Okay, thanks.  And, uh, Heero actually sent me to tell you that we'll leave at 1100," Duo got up, walked to the door, pulled it open, and left the room.

1045.  Heero picked up his duffel and laptop and walked out of his room.  His head still hurt abit, and the nausea was there, but he pushed it away easily.  

Duo was already outside in the hall, leaning against the wall with his arms folded across his chest, his duffel dumped carelessly on the floor beside him.

"Hee-chan?"

"Hn."

"Look, I talked this over with Wufei, and we decided, the two of us can complete the mission alone, okay?  So you can sit this one out," Duo said uncomfortably, knowing it would not go down well with his partner.

 Heero glared.  "I'm okay.  I'll be able to do it."  

"From what Duo's been telling me, I think you should give this mission a miss," Wufei appeared from his room, closing the door behind him.

"Damn it, what is wrong with you two?" Heero snapped.

"Look Heero Yuy, for once, just stop it, okay?  I'm not going to have you going out there and dying on us or something like that.  There's nothing wrong if you have to skip a mission.  Don't be stupid."

"Hn," Heero ignored him, "We'd better be going." he turned to head for the door.

Duo rolled his eyes, and looked towards Wufei for help.  Wufei moved up behind Heero.  The Japanese pilot hesitated, then whipped around as he realised what the other boy meant to do, but Wufei was lightning-quick, and he blocked off Heero's fists with one hand.  Duo lunged at Heero, throwing him off balance, then pressing the advantage that Heero's split-second of surprise had given him, Wufei brought his other hand down.  It connected with the back of the other boy's neck, and dropped him unconscious to the floor. 

"Weak point," Wufei explained, "Hit it right, and the whole person will go down.  He'll be okay, though, don't worry about it."

Duo immediately knelt down to check Heero's pulse.  Then he and Wufei picked the unconscious pilot up and dumped him on his bunk, locking the room door once they left.  

"How long will he be out for?" Duo asked.

"An hour or two, maybe a bit more," Wufei got into the truck and started the engine.  "Let's go get the Gundams."

"Looks clear," Duo heard Wufei's voice over the communications unit, slightly distorted by static, but as cold as ever.

"Okay, let's go ahead and blow this base up," He turned Deathscythe to face the nearest building.  He and Wufei had made short work of the base's surprisingly weak defenses, downing the ten or so Mobile Suits easily and demolishing the gun turrets.  Now, they were ready to move in for the kill.

"Wait Maxwell, radar's picking up something…" Wufei trailed off, and on his screen, Duo could see Shenlong turn and face north.

"What the…" Duo exclaimed as the blips appeared on the radar board.  Where there had been none, there were now a hundred or more, coming at them from all directions.  "We've been ambushed."  

"One minute to engagement," Wufei reminded him, his voice was getting even more distorted.  Duo could barely make out the words.

"Damn, comm. is being jammed," Duo yelled as clearly as he could, so Wufei could hear.

"Our radar was, too, that's why we did not spot them earlier," Wufei answered, bringing up the sword in Shenlong's right arm.  "Wait for them, Maxwell, then we go in."

Duo didn't bother to answer anymore – he doubted that Wufei would be able to make out anything.  Instead, he raised the scythe, watching as the brilliant yellow-green blade came into view of the camera, then pushed the directional control over the left to bring Deathscythe nearer to Shenlong.

The first wave of homing missiles came at them.  Duo waited until they were twenty metres away, then pulled the joystick towards him, breaking away from Shenlong.  Wufei did the same in the opposite direction, confusing the homing mechanism in the missiles for a split second, but the proximity sensors kicked in and the missiles exploded in a ball of flame.  The explosion rocked Deathscythe, but Duo took a step backward to stabilise, then braced himself for the second wave of missiles before the Mobile Suits would come near enough to use their guns.

He ignored the figures splashed across his board – the computer had found a total of nearly two hundred Mobile Suits.  He knew he couldn't count the odds, he and Wufei were outnumbered by almost a hundred to one.  A grim smile on his face, he dodged the next wave of missiles, then stepped on the acceleration, bringing the scythe down at the same time.  It connected with the metal hull of the first enemy mobile suit, and sliced through.

_One down.__  A hundred to go…_

The rest of them surged around the two Gundams, guns blazing.

_I don't think we're gonna see tomorrow, _Duo mused, then pushed the thought out of his mind, bringing all his concentration to bear on the battle.

The electronic beeping wouldn't stop.

Heero opened his eyes.  The room around him was dim, but not very dark.  For a split second, he wondered where he was…then he knew.

_Damn Wufei, damn Duo._

He tried to get off his bunk, but landed on his knees on the floor instead.  He reached out for the laptop and hit a key.  The beeping stopped.  There was a message on the screen, and a large tactical display.  He shook his head to clear away the headache, then realised what was on the screen.

_Shit.  It's an ambush!  They're going to walk into an ambush._

Heero realised the information – and the order to abort the mission – must have been sent recently to his laptop, after Wufei and Duo had left.  He pushed himself up from the floor, grabbing onto the wall so he could stay on his feet.  The pain ricocheted through his head, dropping him back onto the floor, his hands holding onto his head, his teeth clenched.

_Go away…_

He knew it wouldn't.  So he reached for the bottle of pills Duo had taken from the hospital and swallowed one.  The smell hit him again, and he remembered what it was now.  He had been taught about it once.  The medicine wasn't actually a total cure, it could only suppress the symptoms for some time, allow him to maybe live a little longer before it became even worse.  

But he couldn't tell Duo that.  He had promised Duo that he wouldn't die, and Heero meant to keep that promise.  He could hide the fact, and maybe it would go away.  The drug was starting to kick in, and the headache began to subside.  

_Hurry.__  Heero got to his feet again, grabbed his duffel and laptop, then headed for the door.  He yanked at it, but it was locked, and didn't open.  Using all his strength, he pulled at it viciously, and it flew open.  He ran through the doorway and out of the hut._

Wufei and Duo had taken the pick-up truck, so Heero slung his duffel and laptop over his shoulder, and broke into a run.  It would take maybe 20 minutes to get to the warehouse, if he was fast enough.  His headache had cleared by now, but the running at an impossible pace was causing his stomach to hurt.

_Damn it, hurry!  _Heero pushed himself to run faster, his breath coming in gasps, but he ignored it.  The nausea was building up in the pit of his stomach, and he started coughing violently.  He retched a few times, then paused briefly to throw up.  There was blood in the vomit, and he ignored that as well, turning instead and continuing to run.

The pain in his stomach was growing with every step he took, so that by the time he was a hundred metres from the warehouse, he was stumbling and bent over, eyes half-closed but still running.  He retched and vomited again – this time outside the warehouse – before he pushed open the doors and stepped inside, noting casually that there was more blood present this time than before.

He was forced to lean against the wall, to stop himself from blacking out again.  He waited a few seconds, swallowed two more tablets, then headed for Wing.  Climbing into the cockpit, Heero started up the Gundam, plugging his laptop into a jack so it could transmit the tactical data and checking all the displays with a swift glance.  Nothing was amiss.  

He stepped on the pedal and Wing surged forward, out of the warehouse.

Heero brought up the communications and tried to raise Deathscythe or Shenlong, but he couldn't reach them.  He cursed silently_.  It had started.  He channelled as much power as he could to the boosters, and hoped he could get there in time._

Heero closed his eyes, letting the autopilot fly. It would take at least seven minutes to get there.  He could feel the medicine working, clearing away the headache and the dizziness.  He pushed everything away, focusing only on the mission – to make sure Duo and Wufei got out alive.  That was all he hoped for, all he wanted.  Everything else wasn't important just yet.

The fact that he was sick wouldn't hinder the mission at all.  For Heero knew he was sick, knew that he couldn't deny it any more, and that he might be forced to break his promise to Duo.

_But not before the mission is done._

Dark-blue eyes opened slowly, then narrowed in a frown of concentration.  3 minutes more.  He tensed his muscles, and waited.

TBC…


	6. Chapter 6

Title: Promise

Summary: Heero is very sick and he tries to hide it from Duo.  Duo has vowed never to lose anyone again like Solo, and when he finds out, he will do everything he can to save his friend.  But it may be too late, and he may be forced to do the unthinkable.

Author: wild horse

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing; I'm making NO money out of this.

Acknowledgments: Jesus, Padawan Nik-ka, and Nat

a/n: thanks for the reviews :)  ah, sorry if the Gundam descriptions and stuff are a bit off, I tried my best to study the pictures and all, but I don't really know much else.

Chapter 6:

Deathscythe shuddered one more time as another missile smashed into the Gundanium alloy.  Duo winced unconsciously and pulled the yoke towards him with his right hand, bringing his Gundam a step backwards, then guided the scythe in one swift motion down to cut the mobile suit in two.

_Thirty-one, I think._

He didn't need anyone to tell him that he and Wufei were losing, and still hopelessly outnumbered.  Shields were down to 45 percent, but he doubted they would stay there for long.  He stepped on the acceleration, bringing Deathscythe ten metres forward and forcing the mobile suits out of his way, noting with grim satisfaction that one of them was critically damaged.  He whipped the Gundam around, swinging the scythe through the air at the same time, incapacitating two more.

_Why are they still coming?_  Duo wanted to scream in frustration.  It wasn't the ones in front that gave him trouble, rather, it was the mobile suits which attacked from the back when he was busy with those in front.

"Maxwell!" he heard Wufei yell over the comm. static, "three steps back!   I'm coming over."

Duo obeyed without thinking, seeing Shenlong step back as well, towards Deathscythe, on the display of the rear-view camera.  He knew what it was Wufei wanted, and he realised the Chinese pilot was just as desperate as he himself was.  If they fought back-to-back, perhaps they _might_ be able to pull through.

"Uh, Wufei, you know that red button?" now that they were closer, the comm. was better.

"Yes," the other pilot answered curtly, knowing that Duo was referring to the self-destruct mechanism and knowing exactly what it was that Duo meant to tell him.

"Okay, good.  As long as you know," Deathscythe shuddered yet again as a barrage of gunfire hit. 15 percent shield strength.  Duo swore silently and sent the scythe through the crowd of mobile suits again, stepping forward slightly.  _Three more.He stepped back closer to Shenlong and waited for them to re-group._

The shields were gone now, and hull integrity was dropping rapidly, even as Wufei worked desperately to guard Duo's back.  "Too many!  Dammit, there are too many!" Duo screamed.  He brought the scythe down again and again in desperation, each time managing to strike at least one mobile suit, but they kept on coming, and new reinforcements were still arriving on the scene.

"Die with honour, Maxwell," Wufei still sounded annoyingly calm.

"I know, I know," Duo snapped, "But I _don't want to die." The force of an explosion threw Shenlong onto Deathscythe.  Duo fought the controls for a while as Shenlong struggled to regain balance.  No shields, hull integrity: 83 percent._

"Back twenty metres.  _Now!"_

Duo obeyed as Wufei brought Shenlong forward twenty metres so they were still standing back-to-back.  A beam of energy shot through where they had been seconds earlier, demolishing twenty or so mobile suits.

 "Heero Yuy, damn you," Duo said cheerfully over the comm.

"Hn." Wing landed on the ground some hundred or so metres away, sword raised and ready to fight.  Heero could see that they were still badly outnumbered, but he hoped his appearance had evened out the odds some.  Hoped.

He tore through the enemy ranks fiercely, hitting out at them with the energy blade.  A few missiles smashed into Wing's hull, bringing shields down to 90 percent.  Heero took the display in with a swift glance, then analysed the situation quickly. 150 to three.  That was in no way good.  He had requested Duo and Wufei's data, and he looked at it now – both had lost their shields already, Duo was down to 52 percent hull integrity, Wufei at 54.  They wouldn't be able to last long enough, and they couldn't afford to lose 2 Gundams, and 2 pilots, to self-destruction.

Heero made his plan up quickly, then put it into action.  He stepped down hard on the pedal and brought Wing fifty metres closer to Deathscythe, striking out left and right as best he could, but, even then, that brought his shields down to 79 percent.  Heero cursed mentally, they were too outnumbered to even retreat.  That was very bad.

At the edge of his display, he saw another missile hit Deathscythe.  The Gundam flew back with the impact, and Duo swore into the comm. "15 percent."

Heero frowned, and let the next few missiles hit Wing – he didn't even bother to go evasive as the shields began to buckle under the barrage.  Then, he yanked his joystick over to the left so that his Gundam went down precariously on one knee.  Immediately, he pushed it forward, and Wing shuddered as it tried to get back up from its unstable position.  Without waiting to regain balance, Heero pushed for full-power, and Wing surged forward, stumbling as though badly damaged.  He cut power to the shields so that he lost them entirely.

Suddenly, Duo and Wufei found themselves fighting significantly less mobile suits as the enemy flocked around Wing, trying to go in for the kill.  Heero was still fighting furiously, but Duo could see that he wouldn't be able to hold out against them.  And then realised that Heero didn't need to.

"Shit!  Hee-chan, don't," the American pilot shouted desperately.  Heero was faking critical damage to draw the enemy, and then…

Deathscythe surged forward, and Wufei yelled at Duo as gunfire tore into Shenlong's unprotected back.  Duo slashed at the mobile suits, trying to get to Heero, but Wufei was screaming for him to get back as a missile exploded against Deathscythe.

"Don't!"

Heero watched as the mobile suits gathered around him, loosing gunfire and missiles liberally.  He fought back as best he could, but he knew they would win eventually, unless he got rid of them.  31 percent hull integrity.  He stopped for a while, and they came even closer, trying their best to bring Wing down.  

"Heero, don't!" he could hear his partner screaming over the comm. but he ignored that.

"Duo, Wufei, run," Heero turned and hit the red self-destruct button with one hand.

Wufei forced himself not to cover his ears as Duo's scream, and the explosion, tore through the cockpit.  He took advantage of the distraction to cut down the mobile suits in front of him, then he turned Shenlong around.  At the corner of his screen, he saw Deathscythe headed for the place where Wing had exploded.

"Duo!"

There was no answer.

"Duo Maxwell!" Wufei shouted.  "Get out of here."

"No, you go," Duo's voice was trembling, but hard with determination.

_Stubborn._  "Dammit!  Heero died so we could escape!  Let's go!"

Silence.

Wufei cursed and brought Shenlong around and towards Duo, trying to cover the other pilot as he crashed through the remaining mobile suits.  

Duo scanned the wreckage desperately, looking through the twisted metal to see if Heero was there.  He spotted the brown-haired pilot sprawled out on the ground some distance away – he had probably been flung out of his cockpit by the explosion.  Duo did a 180-degree turn to cut down the three mobile suits that were firing at him from behind, then turned around again, bringing Deathscythe towards Heero.

He stopped the Gundam, scrambled out of his cockpit, and hit the ground running.  He reached Heero's side in seconds, and checked for the unconscious pilot's pulse and breathing. Still there.

_Good, Heero was still alive._

Duo tried his best to sling his partner over his shoulder in a fireman's lift, then headed towards his Gundam, stumbling under the deadweight of Heero's muscular body.  A quick glance to his left told him that the remaining mobile suits were coming towards him fast, although Wufei was doing his best to fend them off.

When he reached Deathscythe, he climbed, one arm holding onto Heero, summoning up strength from somewhere inside him to pull the other pilot up as well.  Somehow or other, he managed to reach the cockpit, and he dropped Heero into the small empty space behind the pilot's seat, then slid into the seat himself with some difficulty.  With Heero around, there were two of them in a cockpit designed for one, and it was getting pretty cramped.

Wufei's voice crackled over the comm. "Okay, let's get out of here." He had decimated a large proportion of the mobile suits, and he put his words into action as he activated Shenlong's boosters, propelling the Gundam into the sky.

Duo swept the scythe through the mobile suit in his way, then hit the boosters and Deathscythe rose into the air.  As they left the OZ base, Duo turned his attention to Heero.

The Japanese pilot was bleeding from a dozen different wounds, but none of them were very serious, except for one across his right leg that looked really bad.  Duo reached into his duffel and pulled out a long piece of cloth from the simple first aid kit he always brought along, then wrapped it around Heero's leg wound, putting pressure on it so that it would stop bleeding.

"Hee-chan?" Duo twisted to his side uncomfortably and shook the pilot.

Heero started coughing violently.  Duo saw more blood stain his best friend's hands as he covered his mouth.

"Shit," the long-haired pilot swore softly.  Heero stayed conscious for a few more seconds, then blacked out again.  Duo flipped the comm. switch, "Wufei, we're headed for the warehouse, right?"

"Yes; how's the Perfect Soldier?"

"Not good.  Look, when we get back, can you take Deathscythe to the next hideout?"

"And where are you going?" Wufei didn't bother to hide his suspicion.

"I'm taking the truck, going to the nearest hospital."

"They'll find out," Wufei cautioned, although he knew it was no use trying to persuade Duo otherwise.

"Damn it!  They won't, okay? They won't!" Duo was practically screaming.

"Okay, okay," Wufei backed off, for once.  "You know where the next safe house is?"

Duo took a deep breath, "Yes."

"See you there."

When they reached the warehouse, Wufei helped Duo get Heero out of Deathscythe's cockpit.  The Japanese pilot was more or less conscious by then, and he insisted on sitting in the passenger seat next to Duo.  Duo did not tell his best friend where they were going, knowing that Heero would definitely refuse.  He grabbed the proper First Aid Kit from the warehouse, as well as some supplies and a portable comm. unit.  Noticing that his hands were covered with blood – Heero's blood –he stopped at the sink to wash them off quickly, then climbed into the pick-up truck.

As he started the engine and drove onto the road, Duo noticed that Heero's eyes were closed, and he was leaning back against the seat.

"Hee-chan?" Duo asked softly.  "You alright?"

"Hn," Duo could tell it was taking a lot of effort for Heero to even grunt.

"You're gonna be alright, okay?  You really scared me, but you'll be okay.  Just hang on."

"Hn," Heero's breathing was harsh, ragged.  He tried to bring it under control, but failed, and instead, started retching.  Duo stopped the truck so Heero could throw up, and the ginger-haired pilot noticed the blood in the vomit.  He knew it meant at least one of two things – an internal injury, or that Heero was really really sick.

When Heero was done, Duo continued driving, and consulted the map. It would take at least three hours to reach the hospital, he realised in dismay.

_Okay, just keep talking, just keep him awake.  Everything will be okay._  Duo didn't want Heero to give up hope and stop wanting to live.  He knew that Heero could get better, or actually, he _wanted_ to believe that it was so.  He wondered if he should tell Heero that the doctor had said the disease was usually fatal, but he didn't.

"Did you take the medicine?" Duo asked.

"Yes," Heero didn't say what he'd found out about the tablets.  His eyes were closed again, but he wasn't asleep.  Far from it; every part of his body hurt – where he'd been bruised or cut – and his headache was very bad.  But for Duo's sake, he kept the pain from his face, and didn't say anything about it.

"Then it should work, right?"

Heero didn't answer, and Duo looked over at his friend anxiously.  His fists were clenched so tightly, the knuckles had turned white, and Duo knew he must be fighting against the pain.

Heero relaxed a notch and somehow found his voice, although it was hoarse, "Yes.  Where are we going?" he already suspected he knew.

"Hospital," Duo answered honestly, "Then you'll get better, and we can meet Wufei at the next safe house.  Look, I'll be very careful, okay?  We won't get found out."

For some reason or other, the pain subsided a little, and Heero opened his eyes and managed to talk a bit more, "We're being followed and tracked," he stopped to cough, then continued, "they know."

Duo was glad that Heero wasn't so bad off that he couldn't argue back, but he knew that, this time, Heero needed proper medical care.  "I can pull this off."

"Hn." His head hurt too much for him to want to continue the argument.  

"Heero?  Remember, you promised."

The other pilot nodded ever so slightly, then settled back down into the seat and closed his eyes again, willing his tight muscles to relax so he could get some rest.  At least, if he could sleep, he might not feel the pain for awhile.  Heck, it might even do his body some good.  And the mission was already accomplished; now, he only needed to keep his promise to Duo.

TBC.


	7. Chapter 7

Title: Promise

Summary: Heero is very sick and he tries to hide it from Duo.  Duo has vowed never to lose anyone again like Solo, and when he finds out, he will do everything he can to save his friend.  But it may be too late, and he may be forced to do the unthinkable. *finished* *deathfic*

Author: wild horse; for archiving, email me: wild_horse1987@yahoo.com.sg 

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing; I'm making NO money out of this.

Acknowledgments: Jesus, Padawan Nik-ka, and Nat

a/n: is it too late to give a *deathfic* warning? :) Last chapter!!! Thanks for reading thus far.  

Chapter 7:

Duo kept watch over Heero as the other boy slept.  Heero managed to snatch about a half hour's rest before the pain brought him back to consciousness, and Duo had to stop again for him to vomit.  Duo noted that Heero didn't have much to throw up, just some blood, and realised that his friend probably hadn't eaten in a very long time.

"Shit," Duo cursed as he reached the top of a hill.  

Heero didn't bother to ask why – he could see for himself.  There was an OZ roadblock below, patrolled by a car and 2 guards.

Duo didn't bother to slow down, he knew that even if the guards couldn't recognise his face and Heero's immediately, they would know something was amiss once they spotted the injured pilot.  He crashed through the roadblock at top speed, hearing the guards shout in surprise.  As he passed, he lowered the window and pulled off two shots.  He thought he hit one of them in the head, and the other in the stomach – he couldn't be sure.  He dumped the gun on the floor beside him.

"Okay, now they know," Duo admitted to Heero.  "After I drive past them and shoot them in the face, they should know."

"Hn," Heero grunted.

"Duo?" the comm. unit crackled to life a few minutes later.  It was Wufei.

"Yeah?"

"You're going to be ambushed.  Run into a trap."

"How do you know?" Duo retorted, although he was glad for Wufei's information.

"Radar.  Look, I can bring Deathscythe to a junction about half an hour away from where you are, and we can run off from there.  They can't stop Gundams."

Duo shook his head, although Wufei wouldn't be able to see the gesture, "No.  Where are the patrol cars?"

"Behind you, and coming up in front.  You can't escape."

"I've got to get Heero to the hospital."

Heero took a deep breath and interrupted, "Do it Wufei."

"No," Duo snapped.

"Shut up," Heero said softly, "Wufei, do it."

"Okay, 30 minutes from now.  Sixth junction from your present position.  Pilot 05 out," Wufei signed off before Duo could get a reply in.

"Shit, Heero.  You _know _you're sick, and we need to get you to a hospital," Duo burst out.

"I'm sorry, Duo," Heero's voice was so low and soft, it was difficult to pick up.

"For what?" Duo asked, but he was afraid to know the answer.

"Not keeping the promise," Heero closed his eyes as another wave of pain and nausea assaulted him. He retched again, but this time, didn't throw up.

"No," Duo looked down at his hands, clenched tightly around the steering wheel, then looked up again at the road.  "No.  Shit!  No!  Dammit Heero, you'll get better.  You will!"  he turned to look at the other pilot, but Heero's face was as blank and expressionless as ever, not betraying any of the pain he must have been feeling, his dark-blue eyes staring fixedly at the road ahead.

"Please.  It's not true.  It can't be true," Duo was forcing back desperation.  "Just hang on, Hee-chan.  They can make you better at the hospital."

Heero shook his head slowly.

"They have a cure," Duo ventured, although he knew what it was that was happening.

The Japanese pilot shook his head again, then started coughing violently.

"No, I won't let you die," Duo said.  "You won't die, you'll recover."

There was a long silence, and Duo had counted down 16 minutes after Wufei had signed off, before Heero spoke again.

"You should go, with Wufei."

"No," Duo said.  "I'm not leaving you."

There was a pause, then Heero said, "Do something for me."

"What?  I'll do anything," Duo answered immediately.

"Shoot me."

Duo was so shocked, he stopped the truck without knowing it and turned to face Heero.  "No."

Heero took another deep breath, "I won't live.  They're coming, and I'll slow you down.  You know it."

"No, you're not gonna die.  Okay?  Just get it into your head, you're not gonna die!" Duo's voice was raised.

"Damn you, Duo, just do it," he was breathing heavily after the exertion of speaking.

"No."

Heero turned to face his partner, his gaze as intense as ever, but Duo could see beyond it, see into the pain and hurt, both physical and emotional.  "I don't want to do it," he paused for awhile, "And I don't want to die because OZ made me sick.  That only leaves you."

"No," Duo was on the verge of crying now.  "No," but he knew it to be true.  

Heero closed his eyes and tried to tame his ragged breathing.  "9 minutes more," he reminded his partner.

Duo started the car again, numb with fear.  He could tell that Heero's strength was fading with time, and he knew, that even if Heero could live until tomorrow, he wouldn't recover.  _Face it, _Duo forced himself to stare right into the truth that he'd been avoiding the past few days.

The next 5 or so minutes passed quickly, and they were at the junction before Wufei arrived.

"We're there," Duo told his partner softly.  He got out of his seat and walked around to the passenger's side, opening the door.

"Hn," Heero nodded, but barely.  "Do it.  Please," the Japanese boy picked up his gun.

Duo took the gun from Heero's hand, noticing that his own hands were trembling.  He put it down, then flung his arms around Heero, hugging him fiercely.  "I love you."

Heero closed his eyes and embraced the other pilot, "I know."

Then Duo moved back, away from Heero.  He shook his head fiercely, then asked quietly, "Are you sure?"

"Hn," Heero coughed a bit more.

Duo bent down and picked the gun up slowly, checking to make sure the bullets were still inside.  He raised the gun, remembering how, when he and Heero had first met, he had shot the other boy, and then how, they had become the best of friends.  The emotion threatened to drown him, push him over.  He closed one eye and sighted the gun.

"Dammit, Heero, I can't!" Duo dropped the pistol onto the floor again, his voice quavering, "I just can't."  He looked at Heero, silently pleading with his partner to get better, to say that he would live and that he wouldn't have to shoot him, "Don't make me do it."  

Heero looked away uncomfortably, unable to take the brokenness and fear in the violet eyes.  "Shit, Duo, I'm sorry I had to do this to you," he said softly.  "I'm sorry."

Duo could hear the regret in Heero's voice.  He shook his head slowly, "I can't."  Every part of him wanted Heero to stay alive, to be with him on the next mission.  "I'd rather kill myself."

Heero turned back to his friend, searching the other boy's eyes out with his own, "Remember your wish?"

Duo nodded slowly.

"Don't give up on it.  Someday, everything _will turn out all right," Heero suppressed another bout of violent coughing, then continued, "Then you've got to be there to claim it.  For yourself, and for me too."_

Violet eyes stared back into dark-blue ones, seeing the faint hope there that still lingered.  "Heero, you know I can't do it!"

"Please," Heero's voice had dropped to a barely audible whisper, and his face muscles tensed as the pain intensified yet again, tearing through him like a knife.  He looked back at Duo.  This time, he was almost begging his friend, but couldn't, because Perfect Soldiers never did.  

Duo closed his eyes as he realised that he'd been selfish, wanting Heero to be with him, not thinking about the other pilot.  One thing Heero had always dreaded was to die at the hands of the enemy.  He had told no one else but Duo, a long time ago, soon after they'd first met.  Now he was asking of Duo a last favour, a favour the long-haired boy knew he could not deny.  Duo knew Heero would have shot himself, but he trusted Duo, loved the other boy enough to ask it of him.

He swallowed hard, then opened his eyes, and found himself looking into Heero's again.  

_Do it._  

He bent down and brought the gun up once again.  

"Thanks," Heero didn't close his eyes – he was ready to stare death straight in the face.   By now, his voice was so soft, Duo had to strain to hear it.

"I'll love you always, Hee-chan," Duo whispered, then, forcing himself to keep his eyes open so that he wouldn't aim wrongly, he snapped off two shots.   Dark-blue eyes closed for the last time, and Duo knew Heero had died instantly.

He stepped forward and pushed the blood-stained hair over to cover Heero's eyes – the pilot looked more at peace than he had ever been.    

_Shit. _

_He's dead._

Duo took a few steps back, suddenly afraid.  He grabbed the comm. unit, stuffing it and Heero's gun into his duffel, then ran to the back of the truck and rummaged through the boxes before finding the explosive charges, which he rigged to the truck.  He picked up the remote and pushed it into his pocket – Wufei had brought some extra explosives – then looked up as he heard the whine of sirens.

Patrol cars.  The first one would be here in seconds.

Duo swore, pulled out the comm. unit, and thumbed it on.  "Wufei?"

"Almost there.  1 minute."

Duo hesitated, then ran away from the truck, hiding behind a clump of bushes nearby.  From there, he watched as two OZ soldiers stepped out of the car and walked to the pick-up truck, alert for any sign of danger.

_Damn them.  _Duo thought.  _Damn OZ and this stupid war._  He fingered the remote with his left hand.  With one press of the button, he could end it all.  The explosion would kill him as well, end his life.

_Don't give up on it._

Heero's words were still fresh in his mind.

_Dammit_.  Why did he have to get sick? Why did I have to shoot him?   _Duo felt like screaming, like going to the OZ soldiers and killing every one of them with his bare hands.  They had found Heero's body, now they would be looking for him.  All the anger, all the grief and fear, exploded from beneath him as he let it loose, not caring any more.  He leapt out from his hiding place, then went for the nearest soldier, hitting him in the back of the head and breaking his neck instantly.  The other soldier whipped around, ready to fire, but Duo was upon him as well, smashing a fist into his face.  Two more soldiers appeared from the car._

Duo turned upon them, a cold murderous glint in his eyes.  They were unarmed.  He put his hands around the nearer soldier's neck, applying the pressure.  Duo felt the other soldier grab him by the shoulders, trying to pull him away, but he twisted viciously, throwing him off.  

Three dead and one unconscious.  Duo knew that more were coming, he could hear the sirens.  The Gundam pilot reached for the remote again.

_Press it, kill them.  Kill me._

The sound of Shenlong's boosters interrupted his train of thought.  Wufei released the clamp, dropping Deathscythe onto the ground.  Duo saw Deathscythe, but he made no move towards his Gundam, just stood there, duffel in one hand, the remote in the other, watching as the patrol cars drew nearer.

_I'll go down with them._

His mouth was set in a grim smile.  There was no point in living anymore.

"Maxwell!" Wufei yelled over the comm. "Get in!  They're coming, you don't stand a chance!"

_No, I'm taking them all down with me._

"Maxwell!  Damn you!  They're going to get the Gundam."

Wufei's second yell shook Duo, as though waking him from a dream.  

Duo sprinted towards his Gundam.  He heard a shout, and then scattered gunfire, but he got to Deathscythe's cockpit unscathed, and started the Gundam's boosters.   He noted that Wufei had remembered to re-fuel his mobile suit.

"Duo?"

Duo realised that he was just hovering there, not bothering to move away.

"Shit," he cursed himself out loud, not caring if Wufei heard or not.  He saw that the soldiers were trying to take Heero's body out of the truck, and he couldn't stand it any longer.  He screamed and hit the remote.  "Bastards!  You're not going to get him.  Never!"

Wufei didn't bother to ask what was happening as the truck exploded in a ball of fire, he just sent the safe house coordinates to Duo's autopilot so the other pilot would know where to go.

Instinctively, Duo pointed Deathscythe in the right direction once he'd received the coordinates, then stepped on the acceleration.  The autopilot kicked in after a few kilometres or so, only then did Duo let go of the controls and notice that his hands were shaking uncontrollably.  He switched off the receiver so Wufei could still contact him but not hear what was going on.

_Don't cry.  Don't.  _The last time he had cried, it had been when Solo had died.  Never.  Never again, he had vowed, would he cry, or lose someone else he loved like this.  Just standing there while they died.

But he had.

_I let it happen.  I shot him, dammit!_

He tried to stop his hands from shaking, but he couldn't.  He was trembling all over, he didn't know from fear or anger.  He briefly contemplated the self-destruct button, then realised that it wasn't fool-proof.  As he looked around the cockpit, he could see blood splashed everywhere – Heero's blood.  He could smell it – the almost unbearable iron-like stench.  It assaulted his senses, driving him mad.

_He's dead. _

_I shot him.  Shit!  I shot my best friend._

Duo pulled Heero's gun from his duffel, then shoved it under his chin.  He knew it would blow his brains out, and he didn't care anymore.

_What wish?  Heero, I don't see any.  Nothing's gonna be okay again.  How can it ever be?_

Eyes closed, he squeezed the trigger, but it only clicked, and no bullet came crashing through his skull.  He released the trigger, then tried once more.  

Nothing.  

Duo pulled the gun away and checked the magazine.  It was empty.  _Shit._

_He knew.  _Heero had put only two bullets in, because he had known this would happen.

'Someday, everything will turn out all right.'

_Damn._

'Then you've got to be there to claim it.  For yourself, and for me too.'

_Damn you, damn you, Heero._

Duo threw the gun on the floor, then buried his head in his hands and cried.

*end*

(or maybe not… may be TBC)

a/n: thanks for reading this through all the way, and reviewing, of course. :) just a note, it's not yaoi, at least, I hope not.  Duo and Heero are just very very very good friends ;).  Sorry to disappoint anyone who thought it was, I just thought I would try to write good angst without yaoi, because I DO think that Heero and Duo belong together, but well, not in that kind of way, so I'm trying to see how far a non-yaoi relationship could go.  How effective was I?  maybe you could tell me.  Might write a sequel to this.  Which is AU anyway.  Any takers?  - wild horse


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